Christmastime in the Air
by tiva auggie and annie hp fan
Summary: A crime happens roughly two weeks before Christmas and with Jack being with his grandparents for the next week Emily shows Hotch a couple of things from her past to show him that he is not alone this season. (This is not a story connected to my other story.)
1. Chapter 1

Christmastime in the Air

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for all the support from my last story. It meant a lot to me. Well here is this story that is not related to my other story. I hope you enjoy the story! Please feel free to leave a review I love hearing from you guys! Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds although I wished I did.

December 13, 2012

Emily was sitting at her desk doing paperwork when she looked up at the clock and sighed. It was going on ten o'clock at night. She looked back at her desk and saw that she had barely made a dent in the paperwork that she had been doing and she had been working on it for the past five hours. She stood up and decided that she could just continue working on this tomorrow. Emily stood up to leave but noticed that there was still a light on in Hotch's office. She decided to walk up to his office. Emily knocked on Hotch's door and leaned in "Hey Hotch what are you doing here so late?"

Hotch looked up from what he was doing and towards Emily, who was just at the door, "Just doing my paperwork Prentiss. Why are you still here this late?"

Emily walked into his office and leaned on the doorframe and said "I was doing the same thing until I realized the time. It is nearly ten o'clock." Emily just looked at him now waiting for his answer to come.

Hotch then looked up at the clock before looking back at Emily and then he looked back at his paperwork as he said "I know what time it is Prentiss, but I need to get these signed off and then I will be heading home."

Emily moved off of the doorway, ignoring the tone of his voice, and moved to sat down in one of the chairs that are in front of his desk. She sat there for about a minute before she asked him "Where is Jack since you are staying late?"

Hotch just kept looking at the paperwork he was working on for a couple minutes without answering Emily's question when he finally looked back up and saw that she was still sitting there. He knew that Emily wanted an answer. Hotch sighed and put his pencil back down and looked at Emily before he said "Jessica has him for the next week. She is taking him to see his grandparents up north for the holidays." Hotch sighed and ran a hand down his face waiting for Emily to respond.

Emily finally responded by leaning forward and patting his hand "I'm sorry Hotch. At least he'll be back before Christmas." Emily waited until she saw that Hotch had nodded before she stood up and walked over to him and patted his arm as she said "Come on Hotch even though your son isn't home you can leave at normal time. Come on lets go get something to eat." Emily just stood there waiting for Hotch's reply.

Hotch finally turned to Emily, who had now taken a step back, and looked at her before standing up saying "Sure. That sounds like it would be nice. Let me gather my stuff." Emily just nodded and headed back to her desk smiling to herself. Hotch looked around his office and went about gathering his stuff, including putting the files into his briefcase, before he grabbed his jacket and turned off his light in his office before heading down to meet Emily at her desk.

Emily had gathered her stuff up when she had came back down and sat there waiting for Hotch to come down from his office. She smiled to herself when she saw Hotch coming down to her and when he got close she said "Are you ready to get going?" Emily watched Hotch as he thought something through and then as he nodded. She smiled at him and he gave her a little smile back she said "Then let's get going." Emily watched as Hotch nod and then started to walk to the elevators.

Hotch started to walk with Emily when he paused and grabbed her arm and said "Thanks for this Emily. It means a lot to me." Hotch seeing the small smile on Emily's face knew that what he said meant something to her too. The two of them walked out of the BAU and towards the elevators and then the garage. When they got to the garage Hotch said "You can ride with me and then I can give you a ride in the morning if you want."

Emily turned to Hotch and nodded "That sounds good. Thank you." Emily glanced down quickly before looking back up and smiled as he started to guide her over to his car by putting his hand in the middle of her back. After they got to his car he opened the door for her and then took her go bag before she slide into the passenger seat. He closed the door after she got in and the opened the back seat and tossed their go bags into the back seat.

Hotch then climbed into the driver's seat and started to drive away before he asked her "So where do you want to eat?" Hotch watched as Emily thought for a moment and he inwardly smiled to himself. He was glad that they seemed to have finally taken that first step towards a relationship with each other.

As he walked around Emily had smiled to herself and when he asked her where she wanted to eat she thought for a second before saying "I know this 24 hour diner nearby if you want to go there." When she saw Hotch nod she knew that he liked the idea so she then said "It's on Kinsley Street. I'll show it to you when we get closer. Do you know how to get to that street?" Emily watched as Hotch nodded once more. Emily then began to wonder if this was a step in the direction that she was wanting, which was a relationship with him, she hoped so. When Emily looked up once again she saw that they were on Kinsley Street she then said "It's right up here on the left."

Hotch looked to where she said and nodded "I have never seen this place before." He then pulled into the parking lot and as he turned off the car he turned his head to her and asked "So how did you find this place?" He saw Emily pause for a moment and he almost regretted asking her about it.

Hotch was about to open his mouth and apologize when Emily spoke. "My dad did. When I was 16, it was a couple months after what happened in Rome, my mother got positioned stateside." Emily took a breath and then continued "I remember one night me and my mother got into this terrible fight and to cool down my dad took me driving all over town. We had been driving for a couple hours when we realized we hadn't eaten yet and we found this place by accident. I remember that night clearly. It was a good night for the both of us." Emily then looked out the window before she hopped out of the car and waited for Hotch to follow her.

Hotch quickly got out of the car and caught up to her and he then put his hand on her arm to stop her, once again, "Thank you for sharing that with me Emily." He saw that Emily had relaxed even more as he had said this and that made him feel happier. "Come on. Let's get inside." Emily nodded and followed him inside.

As Emily followed Hotch inside she was secretly glad that she told him the story of she found out about the restaurant. She smiled at him as he held the door opened for her and mumbled a "thanks" and watched as he smiled back at her and give her a small nod of the head. She then went inside with Hotch right behind her following her to a table. Emily looked around and saw that there were only a few other people in the diner along with her and Hotch. Emily slid into the booth and Hotch slid into the booth that was across from her. After Emily grabbed the menus from the side of the table she passed one to Hotch and said "The food here is pretty good, although I would recommend the biscuits and gravy."

Hotch looked up from the menu to look at Emily "Thank you for the recommendation." Just then a waitress came over and asked "Can I take your order?" Emily looked up at the waitress and said "I'll have the biscuits and gravy with a glass of water please." The waitress nodded and wrote down Emily's order before she turn to Hotch and said "And for you sir?" Hotch just glanced over at Emily and said "I'll have the same. Thank you." The waitress smiled at the two of them "No problem. It will be out soon." As the waitress walked away Emily looked back at Hotch and asked "So what are you planning for Christmas for Jack?"

Hotch sat straighter at this topic and smiled "Well after he gets back we will be getting a tree and then decorating it. He wants to make Christmas cookies so we will be doing that as well. Besides that we will be watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music." Hotch just smiled at the idea that he would be doing that with his son. He flittingly wished Emily would participate in these Christmas activities with them but quickly pushed that idea down.

Emily smiled at him and reached over and squeezed his hand "That sounds like a blast Hotch. I think that Jack will really enjoy doing those activities." Emily watched as Hotch smiled at her and then as he looked down at their hands intertwined. The waitress then came over and said "Here is your food and water enjoy!" As she said this Emily took her hand away from Hotch's and almost immediately missed the warmth from his hand. Little did she know he was thinking and feeling the exact same way as she was feeling now.

As they ate their food Hotch asked Emily "So Emily what are you doing for Christmas?"

Emily looked up from her plate of food and said "I am not doing too much. I am decorating the tree I bought a week ago and just having a quiet evening at home since my mom is out of the country." Emily smiled but was still a little sad because even though she enjoyed the peace and quiet she did enjoy being with other people during this time of the year.

Hotch just sat back and watched Emily's face as she said that and then remembered "Did you know Dave decided to host Christmas this year and he just told me earlier today he will be inviting the team." Hotch just watched as Emily smiled at him.

Emily looked back up and smiled at Hotch "I did not know that. Whenever he invites the team over I will tell him that I will go. Thank you Hotch." By now they had both finished their food and the bill had arrived. Emily and Hotch spilt the bill and Hotch was then driving Emily back to her apartment. When they got to the apartment Emily turned to Hotch "Thanks for coming with me. See you tomorrow."

Hotch smiled back at Emily and as she was getting out he replied "Yes she you tomorrow Emily. It is me who needs to thank you. You got me out of the office tonight. I'll be here to pick you up at seven in the morning."

Emily had this small smiled and a light blush on her face that she tried to cover up. "It was no problem Hotch. Have a good night. Thanks once again." With that Emily hopped out of the car and headed up to her apartment. When Emily reached her apartment she closed her door and leaned against it thinking _I can't believe I told him all of that. _Emily then took a deep breath before she started to get ready for bed.

Meanwhile Hotch was driving home thinking _I can't believe that this actually happened._ Hotch shook his head as he pulled into his apartment complex. He then got out of his car and headed up to his apartment. He was glad that he went to the diner with Emily tonight. He found out some things about her and he was glad that she opened up to him and he hoped that was a step in the right direction for the relationship he was wanting with her.


	2. Chapter 2

December 14, 2012

Hotch got up at about the same time as he usually did, which was about 5:30, and got ready for the day. He repacked his go bag just in case they got a case and had to head off. After that was done he ate a quick breakfast and after he did all of that brewed himself a cup of coffee and then headed out the door locking it behind him.

Emily had just finished making herself a cup of coffee when she heard a knock on the door. Emily opened up the door with the cup of coffee in her ready. "I'm ready Hotch." With that Emily watched as Hotch stepped back a couple steps. Emily then grabbed her go bag next to her door and headed out the door locking it on her way out.

When they got down by his car Hotch once again said "Thanks Emily for last night I really need it." Emily smiled back at him "It was no problem Hotch. It was my pleasure." After that was said the two of them remained quiet until they got to headquarters.

Once they got into the bullpen Emily sat down at her desk and got to work on the rest of the paperwork she had left from last night. A couple hours later however she was surprised at how fast she made a bigger dent in the paperwork. She kept on working, except at lunch, and by four o'clock she had finished her paperwork. When she looked up she saw Hotch and Garcia talking in his office she thought we have a case. A couple minutes later her thoughts proved correct when Hotch came out with files in his hands and he said "We have a case. Wheels up in twenty. We will debrief on the plane." Everybody nodded and gathered their stuff and then headed to the jet.

Ten minutes after everyone got on the plane and were seated they were in the air. They all had their files in front of them when Garcia called them shortly after they took off. "Hello my crime fighters. Alright down to business earlier this morning I got a call from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over the past month they have found 4 groups of couples murdered. The most recently found couple was early this morning. The first couple Anna Hutt, 30, had her throat cut, while Matt Thomas, 35, got stabbed over twenty times. Mary Waters, 30, was killed the same way as the previous female and then Rick Jett, 35, was killed the same way as the previous male. The patterned continued with Terri Black, 30, and Tony Barns, 35, and then the couple found this morning Kathy Bates, 30, and Jason Gates, 35. All of these people looked pretty much the same dark hair, brown eyes, about the same weight and height for each woman and man. Also one more detail all of these couples were found out in the open." Hotch nodded "Thanks Garcia. We'll call when we need you." Garcia nodded "Alright signing off." With that the screen went black.

Hotch then looked up at everyone and said "Based just on this information what does the profile tell us." Morgan looked up from the file and said "I think the UnSub is targeting these men and women based on their looks. They are probably surrogates for someone they think wronged them." Emily nodded at his statement "I agree. The anger is directed more towards male victims. So the males are the targets main targets of the rage." Reid was still looking over the file as this was happening and when Emily finished talking he said "That seems to be a fair estimate and I think that the UnSub is in the age range that the victims are maybe a little older so about 30 to 40 age range." Rossi was watching the whole team before he said "I think there is a possibility that this UnSub is a woman." Hotch nodded at Rossi said because it made sense to him. "I agree with Dave." Emily looked back down to the file scanning through it. "If the UnSub is a woman she could have caught her husband, or boyfriend but most likely her husband, with another woman who looks like the women the UnSub is killing." Everybody nodded at what Emily said when the pilot came over the speakers "We are about to land. Please prepare for landing." As they started to descend Hotch spoke up "Okay let's hit the ground running on this one. JJ and Dave check out the crimes for the first two sites, Reid and Morgan the last two sites. Prentiss you are with me and we are going to the station." Everybody nodded and as soon as the plane touched down everybody was ready to get going.

After the plane touched down JJ and Dave went to the first crime scene and when they looked around JJ said "This place is very open. It would have been difficult to kill these people here." Dave looked around and saw all the joggers that were around and nodded "Yeah it would have been hard. Look over there though. That is a little bit more secluded and private where a couple might go." JJ nodded and started to walk over to the place that Dave had pointed out. Dave followed her over there. JJ looked around her and thought of something. "The UnSub might have spotted the couple sitting over here late at night and then either followed them to the open area or just waited for them to get close to them." Dave nodded "That could be a possibility. Let's go to the second crime scene." JJ nodded and followed Dave to the next crime scene which was within the same park just a different area of it. "Dave one possibility is that this park meant something to the UnSub. Like whoever offended them took them here for things and then the UnSub kept on seeing the same person bring other people here and they just couldn't stand it." Dave nodded and then looked around them and saw another secluded place "There is another secluded spot." JJ nodded "Our theory might be correct. Let's see what Reid and Morgan find out from the other two scenes." Dave nodded and started to walk back to the SUV "Let's head to the station and tell Hotch and Emily what we found." JJ nodded and then followed him to the SUV.

Reid and Morgan arrived at the third crime scene, which was in the same park as the first two, and when they walked up to the scene they started to look around and they noticed the same characteristics that JJ and Dave did at the first two scenes. Morgan looked around and said "Reid there is a area over there that is off the beaten path. The UnSub could have been watching the couple from there." Reid looked over to where Morgan was pointing "That is a possibility. Let's go to the next scene we will get the most from that scene I think." Morgan nodded and the two of them headed off to the last crime scene. When they got to the scene they looked around it and they noticed a couple of details they had not noticed before. They notice that in the secluded area that hidden behind a couple of bushes were a set of footprints. After they finished looking around they decided to head to the police station.

When Emily and Hotch got to the station the station they walked up to Detective Runns and Hotch said "I am SSA Aaron Hotchner and this is SSA Emily Prentiss. Can you show us where you set us up?" Detective Runns nodded "Right this way. We got you a map of where the victims were found and a map of the city in general. Also we got the other things that your media liaison said that you needed." Hotch nodded "Thank you detective."

Once the detective left the room Emily and Hotch turned to the board and looked at the pictures of the victims and how they were found and Emily sighed "If we don't figure who is doing this soon we are going to have to be bait aren't we?"

Hotch was looking at the photos as well before he nodded "We most likely will have to. But let's hope it doesn't come to it." Hotch watched as Emily just nod and then take a step forward and looked closer at the pictures. Emily was looking closer at the photos before she saw what she was looking for. She turned back to Hotch and said "None of the victims fought back until the last two why is that?" Hotch looked at the photos before he said "Maybe they didn't see it coming." Emily then walked over to the men and said "What about the men? If the women were killed first then s\they would have tried to fight the attacker right? And vice versa for the women." Hotch nodded seeing what she meant. He stood there thinking for a couple minutes before he said "Drugged is a possibility." Emily nodded but then realized something "And the last victims? What about them?" Hotch took a step closer glancing at the photos "Wore off before the UnSub could kill them." Emily just nodded and said "I wonder what was the trigger was for killing these people. We should check with Garcia to see if they had any common purchase items."

As soon as Emily said that Hotch looked back to her and said "What kind of similar purchases?" Emily now move around the table closer to him and said "A ring purchase perhaps? It could be the trigger. To see a man that looked like their ex and their ex comes in with a man and they buy a ring it could trigger an emotion of hatred." Hotch nodded in agreement before he call up Garcia. "Hey Garcia we need you to look into the finances of the men and check and see if they have spent money either at the same place or on the same item that is on the expensive side."

Everybody got back at the same time and Morgan started by saying "I think the UnSub was stalking the victims." JJ and Dave nodded and said "Makes sense." JJ also nodded but added on "I think that the park meant something to the UnSub and maybe the parts in it that the victims were killed." Emily turned back to the map of where the victims were found before she turned back to JJ and said "I think you are right JJ. All of the victims were found in the same park just different areas." Every one of them nodded in agreement. Everyone then sat down at the table and looked over all of the information that they already have.

Half an hour later Garcia came back with information and called Emily. "Hey Garcia you are on speaker phone. What did you find?" "Well princess I found out that the men did make very similar purchases. Each of the men bought an engagement ring on different days and some on them were a couple months before. Also each of the men bought it at the same store." Emily nodded and then Hotch thought of something else "Garcia see if anyone work all of those days. Have it ready by seven tomorrow morning our time. It's getting late we are going to go get dinner." Garcia then came back "Will do. Garcia out."

After Garcia signed off Hotch said "Well let's get dinner." Everybody nodded and filed out of the room. After they all ate dinner they went to the hotel so they could get some sleep. The rooms were JJ and Emily, Reid and Morgan, and Hotch and Rossi. Before they split up to their rooms Hotch said "Be ready at 7 and everyone meet down here then." Everyone nodded and headed off to their respective rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

December 15, 2012

After everyone was ready the next morning everyone headed down to the station and they gave their preliminary profile to the police. Shortly after giving the police their profile Garcia called and said she had three names of people that were at the shop each day that the men were in there. Hotch had Garcia check behind on each person. It took Garcia most of the day before she gathered enough information that they found out that the possible UnSub could be Helen White. Hotch then had Garcia find out what day Helen work next, which was the 17th. Since they did not have proof that Helen was the killer Hotch and Emily decided to go undercover that day and buy a ring together.

December 16, 2012

The entire day Hotch and Emily stayed around each other and went over their covers so that everything would go fine to next day. As it was getting closer to the time they would usually head out to dinner Emily looked up at Hotch and then asked him "Hey Hotch after we get done with this case I have a couple Christmas traditions that I usually do. Do you want to come with me for some of them?" Hotch looked up at Emily and smiled at her, which made Emily feel warm inside, "Sure Emily I would love too." Emily smiled back at him "Great I'll tell you more about them when we get back." Hotch just kept on smiling and nodded "Okay sounds great." Emily kept on smiling when she stood "Great. Goodnight Hotch see you tomorrow morning." Hotch stood up and gathered up his stuff "I'm done I'll walk with you." Emily tilted her head to the ground and hid a smile before looking back up at Hotch "Alright." With that the two of them walked back to the hotel. Hotch dropped off Emily off at her room "Night Emily." Emily smiled "Night Hotch." With that both of them went into their separate apartments and fell asleep almost immediately.

December 17, 2012

Hotch and Emily woke up at about the same time as the other. Both of them got ready and went down to the breakfast area and sat down by each other going over everything one more time. Everyone else woke up and joined them downstairs an hour later. They all went to the station to wait until Hotch and Emily went to the jewelry store, Gillian's Gems. Since the two of them had to pretend to be a couple and they both had feeling for each other, while the other does not know, and they both thought that it was going to be awkward. At five o'clock, close to closing, Hotch and Emily got into the car to head over to the store. After a couple minutes of silence Hotch reached over and grabbed Emily's hand and asked "You ready for this?" Emily turned to look at Hotch and smiled "I'm ready. Are you?" Hotch knew that Emily would turn the question around on him so he smiled at her in return "Yup." Hotch kept his hand in hers the entire way there. When they pulled into the parking lot and Hotch put it in park Emily leaned over to Hotch and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, and Hotch had to resist the desire to pull her back and actually kiss her, and Emily smiled at him "Well let's get the show on the road." With that Emily got out of the car and waited for Hotch to join her. When he did she slipped her arm around his side and tucked herself into his side and Hotch put his arm around her back and rest his hand on her waist. They walked into the store like this and when they got in Hotch walked up to Helen and said "Hello my name is Tommy River and this is my girlfriend Teresa Bell and we are looking to purchase a ring."

Helen looked at the two of them and both Hotch and Emily saw something pass over Helen's face before she smiled a fake smile at them and said "Well what kind of ring are you looking for?" Emily and Hotch looked at each other before Hotch said "Well Teresa here likes the simpler looking jewelry but it also has to be beautiful like her." Emily blushed at what Hotch was saying even though she knew that it was Tommy saying this to Teresa and not him to her. Emily looked at Helen and said "Do you have anything like that?" Helen smiled at the two of them that was a little creepy in Emily's opinion. Helen then said "Yes follow me and I'll show you what we have." Emily and Hotch followed her over to the display and waited for Helen to show them a couple rings. After a two or three rings Helen pulled out another one and Emily, who was sick of looking at rings already said "Tommy look at that one there." Hotch looked at it and knew that while Emily might like it he also knew that she was not having fun. "It looks perfect Teresa. What is your ring size?" Emily laughed "I actually do not know." Emily then turned to Helen "Can you get my size Helen?" Helen nodded and motioned for Emily to hold out her hand which Emily did and Helen said "You are a 6 and ½. We actually have that size in stock would you like to go ahead and buy the ring?" Hotch nodded "Yes we would. How much is the ring?" Helen looked at the price tag and then said "$475. How would you like to pay for the ring?" Hotch looked through his wallet and pulled out Tommy's credit card and said "Credit if you can." Helen nodded and walked over to the register after packaging the ring and said "Well Mr. River your total will be $550 including tax." Hotch nodded and then handed her the credit card. After Helen rang it up she handed them the bag and said "Thank you and congratulations." Both Emily and Hotch smiled at Helen and bid her a good night. Soon after they left Helen turned to the other employees and said "Well my shift is over. Have a good night guys." The other girls smiled at Helen and each said "Goodnight." Helen then walked out the door and started to follow Hotch and Emily, who were heading to the park, on foot.

As they were walking Emily found an excuse to look over her shoulder before she put it back on Hotch's shoulder as she said "She's behind us now." Hotch nodded and then spoke into the microphone that they had on them. "Get into positions she is right behind us." Both of them heard "Roger" coming from each teammate. They walked to where the team was hidden and a couple moments later they heard Dave come out and say "FBI drop the knife." Both of them then turned around and drew their weapons pointed at Helen now. "Drop the knife Helen." Helen shook her head "You're FBI. You seemed like an actual couple." Emily stepped forward a couple steps "Drop the knife." Helen then let the knife hit the ground. Morgan came up behind her and cuffed her.

When they got back to the station Hotch said "Since it is getting late we will not be leaving until tomorrow morning at 10. Go to the hotel and get some rest. See all of you at the jet." Everyone nodded and headed out to go back to the hotel together.

Author's Note: Here is what the ring looked like. . ?productId=12018216

Thanks for all of the support guys!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Jingle All the Way and once again I do not own Criminal Minds.

December 18, 2012

Emily woke up at about eight and got ready before she headed downstairs. When she got downstairs Emily saw Hotch sitting down in the lounge area and went over to him. "Hey Hotch."

Hotch looked up and said "Hey Emily."

Emily looked over at Hotch and said "What are you doing up?"

Hotch smiled at her and said "I had to get to the shop from yesterday early this morning to return the ring."

Emily nodded. "I bet and Strauss wouldn't have been happy to see a charge that large because of a case."

Hotch smiled and shook his head "No she would not be. So why are you up?"

Emily smiled at him before she said "It was a good time to be getting up. So after we get back are we going on standby until after Christmas?"

Hotch nodded "Yeah we are. I talked to Strauss about it before we left."

Emily was happy about that because she could complete all of her Christmas traditions. She then turned to Hotch "So want to join me for a Christmas tradition tonight?"

Hotch beamed at her and said "I would love to Emily. What is it?"

At that Emily stood up and was getting ready to walk away when she said "You'll find out tonight just dress warmly." Emily then walked away from Hotch.

Hotch shook his head and smiled at Emily's antics and couldn't wait for tonight.

Later that day

It was just after quitting time and everyone was gone but Emily and Hotch. Emily walked up to Hotch's office and leaned against the doorway. "You want to know what we are doing?"

Hotch looked up at Emily and grinned "Sure. What are we doing?"

Emily broke into a smile "We are making Christmas baskets for the families that need them and then if you want to join me tomorrow we will be delivering them and doing one other thing. I have the supplies for the baskets at my apartment."

Hotch shook his head I should have known he thought. "That sounds like fun Emily. Are you ready to go?" He watched as Emily nodded and as she sat down in a chair in front of him. He then said "I will be ready to leave soon. How about I meet you at your apartment?"

Emily smiled at him before saying "That sounds great. See you then. It is a different place than the last time you came over." Emily scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to him "Here is the new address. See you soon Hotch!" With that Emily turned and left.

An hour later

Emily heard a knock on her door. She wiped her hands on the dish towel next to her and went to answer the door. She looked through the peephole and saw Hotch standing there. She then opened the door "Hey Hotch come on in." After Hotch entered she shut the door behind him. She then turned to him and said "I was just getting everything set out. Everything is in the kitchen."

Hotch nodded and took off his jacket a put it over the edge of the couch and followed her into the kitchen. "So what is going into the baskets and how many are we making?"

Emily looked around the kitchen and said "We are putting a turkey in the basket, some cookies, some other sweets, and I am going to make sausage balls as well."

Hotch raised an eyebrow and said "That's a lot of stuff. Where should I start?"

Emily pulled out the cookie dough and said "You can start by making cookies. I will start on the peanut butter balls."

Hotch nodded "Okay sounds like a plan."

They got to work and two hours later all of the cookies were made and half of the peanut butter balls were ready. The other half were still waiting for chocolate to be put on them. Emily just finished melting the chocolate when Hotch spoke. "Thank you for letting me help you with this."

Emily turned to him and smiled. "You are welcome. Can you get started on the sausage balls the recipe is on the counter?"

Hotch got to work on that and by the time he finished mixing everything together Emily had finished covering the peanut butter balls with chocolate. Emily walked over to Hotch and together they work on getting the sausage balls on two different baking sheets, which made all of them. While they were baking Emily realized that they had not eaten anything yet so she turned to Hotch and asked "Do you want anything to eat? We can order something if you want."

Hotch looked over at Emily and smiled "Sure. How about Thai?"

Emily nodded and ordered the food. The food got there right after the sausage balls came out of the oven and after Emily paid for the food she walked to Hotch and asked "What to watch a movie with me?"

Hotch nodded and put the sausage balls on the counter before he smiled at her "Sure. What movie?"

Emily smiled as she thought for a moment "Jingle All the Way." Hotch gave her a funny look before Emily said "It's a funny movie." After Hotch consented and sat down Emily put in the movie. The movie was so ridiculous that it had Hotch laughing the whole time.

After the movie was over it was near 11 o'clock and Hotch turned to Emily and said "Thank you for sharing your traditions and this movie with me Emily. Jack would love this movie."

Emily yawned and said "As long as you get it back to me you can borrow it."

Hotch smiled at her and stood up "Thanks Emily that would be great."

Emily nodded and stood up and got the movie out of the dvd player and put the disc into the case and gave it to Hotch. "Well this was fun." Emily then gave Hotch a hug "Good night Hotch. See you tomorrow."

Hotch took this for what it was and bid her a good night. As he walked out the door he thought I hope I can spend time with her like this again. Soon. With that Hotch headed home and got ready for bed so he would be well rested for the next day.

Emily did the same thing as Hotch did and had similar thoughts running through brain as she fell fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you guys for all the support. I love seeing your reviews, follows, and favorites. So thank you once again and Happy New Year.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

December 19, 2012

At work the next day Dave mentioned the Christmas party he was planning to have Christmas Day and almost everyone of the team said that they could go. After work Hotch showed up at Emily's house and Emily smiled as she let him in and as she asked "Ready to deliver the baskets?"

Hotch nodded "Do you need help loading them?"

Emily nodded "That would be great! Thank you." With that Emily and Hotch loaded up the baskets into Emily's car and drove around to the families that Emily knew that needed help and gave them the baskets that the two of them made.

When all of the baskets were Hotch turned to Emily "So what else are we doing tonight?"

Emily smiled as she thought about it "We are going to be helping out this local soup kitchen that I go to from time to time but I give more time to them around this time of the year."

Hotch smiled as he thought _of course that is what we are doing. That seems like something Emily would do. _All he said though was "That great that you do that Emily. So where is this soup kitchen?"

Emily then pulled into this parking lot as Hotch finished asking his question "Right inside this building." Emily then turned off the car and got out of it waiting for Hotch to join her. After he joined her she started to walk into the building. As soon as they got there a lady behind the counter said "Emily! You're here and you brought a friend! Thank goodness we need all the help we can get."

Emily smile and waved back and said "Okay Lacy tell us where we should be put to work."

Hotch watched as Lacy thought for a moment before she said "The two of you can go to the dessert section and start giving that out. That work for you Emily?"

Emily smiled and nodded "Of course it is Lacy. Where ever we can help." She then turn to Hotch and said "This way Aaron." Emily and Hotch both faltered for a second before they kept on walking both momentarily ignoring her using his first name. They both then started to work on passing out he desserts to the people that came by. They were joking with each other from time to time but were mostly quiet unless they were wishing someone a Merry Christmas.

By the end of the night they were both tired as all get out. They walked out of the soup kitchen together and when they got back to Emily's house Hotch said "I have to go but Emily I really enjoy spending time with you, so how would you like to help me and Jack decorate our tree?"

Hotch watched as Emily smiled at him before she said "Sure that sounds like fun."

Hotch smiled back at her "Great see you tomorrow." Hotch then started to walk over to his car.

Right before he got in Emily called out to him "Aaron just so you know, I love spending time with you too." After Emily said that Hotch smiled back at her and nodded and Emily knew that he really did understand what she was saying. Emily walked inside her house and watched from the window until she saw Hotch pull away. After that she got ready for bed and went to sleep.

December 20, 2012

Emily was smiling the whole day just waiting for tonight. When she got into the office that morning she saw Garcia in the bullpen hold a bag of some sorts. When she got closer Garcia said "Emily you're here. You need to pick out a name for Secret Santa for the party at Dave's on Christmas." Emily walked up to her and pulled a name out of the bag and after she saw the name, Hotch, she kept her emotions in check because she didn't want anyone to be suspicious. She looked up and saw Garcia hovering before she could open her mouth Garcia asked "So who did you get?"

Emily shook her head and kept her face impassive before she said "Well if I told that would defeat the purpose of Secret Santa." Emily sat down at her desk and watched as Garcia went up to Hotch's office. She saw Hotch standing at his window looking down at her. She smiled at him and he smiled back before he turned away.

Hotch turned from the window when he heard a knock "Come in."

Garcia walked into the room and said "Hotch you need to pick a name for Secret Santa at Dave's party."

Hotch nodded and pulled out a slip of paper and looked at the name, Emily, he tucked the piece of paper into his pocket and said "I am not going to tell you who I got Garcia."

Garcia pouted and said "I figured as much." She then walked out of his office and back down into the bullpen.

The rest of the work day Hotch and Emily both were trying to figure out what they should get for each other. When it was quitting time everyone but Hotch and Emily rushed out of the office. Once everyone was gone Emily walked up to Hotch's office. She leaned against the doorway before she said "What time should I come over to your house to help decorate y'alls tree?"

Hotch looked up at Emily from the paperwork he had been working on and thought for a moment and said "Does seven work for you? You can have dinner with us if you want."

Emily smiled and walked over to him "Sounds like fun." She looks around the bullpen making sure no one was there before pressing a kiss to his cheek before turning back around and just before walking out of his office said "See you at seven Aaron."

Aaron watched as Emily left the bullpen and he now knew for sure that Emily returned the feelings that he had been feeling for a while now. He smiled as he got ready to leave and was out of the office by 5:30. He went over to Jessica's to pick up Jack before heading home. On their way home Hotch said "Jack you remember Miss Emily right?" Seeing his son nod he continued "Well she is going to be spending time with us tonight. Helping decorate the tree and eat dinner with us. Does that sound like fun to you?"

From the driver's seat Hotch could see Jack practically jumping up and down as he said "Yes it does. When is she coming over?"

Hotch smiled at the enthusiasm that his son has before he said "7." They soon arrived home and by now it was 6:30 and Hotch got started on dinner almost as soon as they got in. He cut up the potatoes for fries and then put them in the oven at 425 degrees and then he pulled out the thawed hamburger and cheese from the fridge when the doorbell rang. He went to answer the door and seeing Emily there he automatically opened the door and let her in. "Hey I just got started on dinner want to help?"

He noticed that Emily was beaming at him as she nodded. "Sure want are you making?"

Hotch smiled back and said "Burgers stuffed with cheese, a green, and fries. I already got the fries in the oven so you can help me with the burgers and finding a green vegetable to cook."

Emily nodded "Sounds good. What type of cheeses do you have for the burgers?"

Hotch showed her into the kitchen before he said "Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack."

Emily nodded and then she said "How does creamed spinach sound?"

Hotch looked in his fridge and said "Sounds good I actually have ingredients for that. Do you have your own recipe?"

Emily nodded and smiled at the memory before she said "It's a family secret. Dad passed it down to me when he was showing me how to cook when I was younger."

Hotch smiled at her and said "I am glad that you came over, Emily." He rarely opened up with anyone and he now knows that he had felt like he could tell Emily anything and she would not judge him because of it for a while now. He only just discover recently though that he actually enjoyed spending time with her.

Emily smiled back as she felt butterflies in her stomach as she said "I am glad that you invited me over Aaron. Like I said before I enjoy spending time with you. Now let's get started on the burgers and my creamed spinach." They worked in almost complete silence, that was not awkward but pleasant because they felt like they didn't have to talk but they could just be in each other's presence. Hotch only asked what type of cheese she wanted in her burger and Emily said pepper jack, but besides that nothing much was said.

As soon as dinner was ready and Hotch was about to go get Jack, Jack came running into the dining room almost as if he knew dinner was ready. Jack then said "Hello Miss Emily." He then turned to his dad "Is dinner ready yet?"

Hotch laughed and ruffled Jack's hair as he said "I was just about to buddy. We just got done with it and I already made of your plate." Hotch went back into the kitchen to get it to find that Jack was already sitting at the table. Hotch set the food in front of him and said "Wait for us Jack before you start eating. We'll be right back." A minute later both Emily and Hotch returned to the table and Hotch said a quick blessing before they started to eat.

After they finished eating they got started on decorating the tree. They turned on Christmas music and got the lights up on the tree first before they started adding on the decorations. An hour later Jack was starting to fall asleep so Hotch paused what he was doing and said "Come on Jack, time to go to bed." Jack murmured something before nodding and letting his dad pick him up and carry him off to his room. Before Hotch left the room he turned to Emily "I'll be right back." He smiled Emily nod and smile at him before he went to put his son to bed.

When he came back down he saw that Emily was sitting on the couch staring at the tree. He walked up behind her "Penny for your thoughts?" He saw that it made her lip quirk up but she stayed silent so he thought that she wasn't going to answer him.

After a couple of moments she said "Just remembering different things from the past. Like one year my dad and I decorated our tree by ourselves and we had so much fun and do this reminded me of that time. So do you want to finish putting the decorations on the tree?"

Hotch smiled and nodded "Sure." With that Emily stood up next to him and they worked together to put up the last few decorations on the tree. When they were done they both sat back down on the couch just listening to the music. It was a couple minutes later before he asked "What other good memories do you have from Christmas?"

Emily thought for a moment and smiled before laughing and said "There are a couple but this one I'm about to tell you was my favorite one. I was with my granddad and dad and it was just the three of us at the time, my mother was in one of her meetings, and we were in Russia at the time. It was Christmas Eve and it was still light out but the sun was setting soon. Well I wanted to go sledding and so the three of us went outside and found a hill for us to go down. Keep in mind that I was about 9 at the time. So all three of us got on the one sled that we had and went down the hill, well half way down the hill I fell off and tumbled in the snow. When I stood up I was covered head to toe in snow." Hotch suddenly busted out laughing at that image. Emily laughed with him but sobered up so she could continue her story. "I was freezing and my dad could stop the sled so when he reached the bottom of the hill he sprinted up to me and got what snow he could off before he picked me up and carried me back to the house. He made me get a warm bath so I could warm up again and after I got out and was dressed in my warmest pjs he made me his own hot chocolate, another recipe that has been passed down. For the rest of the afternoon we just sat together on the couch watching movies. Even though I got sick the next day it is one of my best Christmases yet."

Hotch watched as Emily smiled as she finished her story and he realized that he was still smiling too. He then saw Emily look at the clock across from them and he then noticed that it was about 11. Emily stood up and stretched before she said "I think I should go. It is getting late. Thank you Hotch I had a good time."

Hotch walked her to the door and as she was putting on her jacket he said "Do you want to come over again tomorrow and help us bake cookies and other goodies which we make baskets with for a couple of people? Then I will tell you my favorite Christmas memory."

Emily smiled and thought for a moment, barely enough time to have Hotch worried, "Yes I would love to help out. But would it be okay if I come at about 8 so I have time to find a gift for that Secret Santa thing that Garcia started?"

Hotch smiled glad that she said yes but now also wondering whose name she drew. "Sure that is fine. I need to find a gift too. I might do that on Saturday though."

Emily nodded and said "If I can't find anything tomorrow I will have to go Saturday too. Well good night Aaron see you in the morning."

Hotch smiled at her using his given name and before he lost his courage he kissed her cheek as he said "Good night Emily. See you then."

Emily smiled at what Hotch did and muttered "Night" once more before heading to her car. When she got in there she touched the place where he kissed her and smiled once more before driving to her house.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

December 21, 2012

After work Emily drove straight to the nearest mall so she could try to find a gift for Hotch. She tried to think back to their conversations to see if there was anything meaningful to him that she could get for him. She walked around for the next hour before remembering one thing that he said back when they first met. They were talking about their favorite books and she remembered that he mentioned that his favorite book as a kid was White Fang but he mentioned that he lost it after he moved to DC. Emily smiled as she thought about it and quickly found a place to sit down and she pulled up ebay on her phone. She searched for older copies of the book and found a worn second edition that was $200. She messaged the seller saying she would buy it and pay $250 for next day shipping so she would get it on time and the seller quickly agreed and Emily smiled to herself once more before heading out of the mall and towards Hotch's house.

She was still smiling when she got to Hotch's house just before 8. She knocked on his and the minute it took for Hotch to answer the door she got her smile more contained. When Hotch opened the door he smiled at her and let her before asking "You have any luck with finding a gift?"

Emily nodded as she came in before smiling at him "Yup I found the perfect gift for the person I got."

Hotch smiled at her and motioned her to the kitchen "Good. Have you eaten yet?" Emily shook her head so Hotch continued "We have some leftovers if you want some before we get started."

Emily nodded and smiled before she said "Thank you. What kind of treats are we making for these bags?"

Hotch handed her a plate of food before saying "Cookies, Brownies, Cupcakes along with homemade icing in a separate container, and Fudge of different types."

Emily muttered "Thanks" when he gave her the food and looked immediately interested when he said homemade icing. She then said in surprise "You made your own icing?"

Hotch nodded "Yeah" he then said "Family recipe."

Emily laughed at that and set her finished plate to the side before she said "So what can I help with?"

Hotch took the plate from her and put it in the sink and turned back to her and smiled as he said "Everything except the icing."

Emily smiled back at him as she said "I would expect nothing less. So tell me what to do."

Hotch smiled and said "In one minute let me go get Jack and wants to help for a little bit." Seeing Emily nod he went to go get Jack. A couple minutes later Hotch came back inside the kitchen with Jack. Hotch walked over to Emily and said "Well what do you think we should make first?

Emily smiled at Hotch, touched because he was asking her opinion, and said "Brownies and I can let you in on a secret of mine for them."

Hotch beamed at that and leaned a little bit closer to her "What is your secret?"

Emily smiled at what Hotch was doing before she said "Coffee."

Hotch raised his eyebrow and said "Really?" Emily nodded and Hotch then said "I'll get some made." Hotch then went about making the coffee.

Emily only then let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding when he stepped away. She looked down at Jack who was close by and kneeled down to his level. "So Jack do you want to help me mix the brownie batter?" Jack smiled and nodded at the same time. Emily dragged a chair over to the island and let Jack stand up there. After Hotch got all the ingredients together and the recipe on the island Hotch just stood back slightly and enjoyed watching the two. Emily turned back to Hotch and saw that he was watching her and Jack so she smiled at him and asked in an almost teasing tone "Are you going to just stare at us or are you going to join us Aaron?"

Hotch just shook his head before walking over to her "So how do you incorporate the coffee into the brownies?"

Emily just looked over her shoulder slightly to see him and said "I replace the water used with the coffee. Now are you ready to get started Aaron?" Hotch nodded and Emily smiled at him "Good now you can help us." Emily then turned back to the island and started put everything in the bowl as Hotch and Jack helped her add stuff to it as well. Once they got all the ingredients in the bowl Emily helped Jack stir everything together.

After they put the mixture into a baking pan and put it in the oven both Hotch and Emily noticed that Jack was starting to drift off. Hotch looked up at Emily and said "I'll be right back." Emily nodded and watched as Hotch picked up his son and took him up to his room. Emily then went to go sit on the couch while waiting for Hotch to come back. A little bit later Emily heard footsteps behind her and she turned to the sound and saw Hotch coming down the steps. As Hotch got closer he asked "Are you ready to start making the cookie dough?"

Emily looked up at him nodded and smiled at him "Sure what kinds of cookies are we making?"

Hotch just smiled back at her before he said "Triple chocolate chip and sugar cookies."

Emily just continued to smile as she stood up "Good choices." With that she followed him back into the kitchen and they got back to work and Hotch then asked "Would coffee work in these cookies?" Emily nodded "For the triple cookie chip not the sugar cookies though." Hotch just nodded and they both got to work. Emily made the triple chocolate while Hotch made sugar cookies.

After the brownies came out they got the cookies rolling in and out of the oven in batches by the dozen. In between the batches of cookies that were rotating they made a couple different types of fudge including; peanut butter, chocolate, and chocolate and mint. The entire time they were doing this they were joking with each other. They were in the middle of making the chocolate cupcakes and the two icings Hotch looked over at the clock and saw that it was nearing midnight. He then looked over at Emily before he said "Emily with it being close to midnight you can leave if you want." When he saw the look on Emily's face he quickly added "Or you could finish helping and stay in the guest bedroom."

When he said that he saw Emily's smile return and she turned to him "I'll take that opinion." Hotch smiled at her when she said that. She then walked over to him and gave him a hug as she said "I'm happy to be spending time with you and thank you for the offer."

Hotch hugged her back and kept her close to him for a few seconds than he should before he let her go. He then said "You are most welcome Emily. I enjoy spending time with you like I said before." He then stepped back to his bowl of icing, leaving a somewhat flustered Emily behind him.

Emily finished the cupcake batter she turned to ask Hotch where the cupcake pan was at, but discover that was right behind her. She back up a couple of steps and then got her voice back she asked "Where is the cupcake pan?"

Hotch saw what Emily's reaction was when she turned around and held back a smile as he said "It is below the stove. I'll get it." Hotch turned to get the pan and Emily took a deep breath to calm down. Hotch turned back to her with two pans; one in each hand and handed them both to her before he said "I'm sorry that I startled you."

Emily just nodded "I know." She then turned away from him and started to fill the pan with cupcakes before putting them into the pan and all she could do now was wait for the batch of cupcake to be done baking. She then turned to Hotch and said "I actually have my go bag in my car I'll be right back." She saw Hotch nod before she went outside and grabbed her bag and was back instead in the matter of a couple minutes. Emily baked the next batch of cupcakes after the first batch came out and saw that there was only two of them so she just waited for this batch to get done. So she went over and sat down on the couch and grabbed her bag and got her Kindle out of it and started to read the last book she was reading which was Pride and Prejudice.

She was so involved in the book that she didn't hear Hotch walk into the room she only noticed him when he sat down at the other end of the couch. She looked up at him surprised but calmed down when she saw that it was just him. She smiled at him and he just looked at her and then the Kindle in her hands when he then asked "What book are you reading Emily?"

She then turned fully to him resting her back against the arm and then she tucked her feet underneath of her before she said "Pride and Prejudice. I am just waiting for the cupcakes to get done. While I am waiting though can you show me where the guest bedroom is?" Hotch nodded and stood up and then held his hand out to her, which she took, and he pulled her up to him gently. He let go of her hand after she was up and let her grab her stuff before he led her to the guest bedroom. He stopped at an open door and said "Here it is. Also the bathroom is two doors down on the right." Emily just nodded and put her bag in there as she muttered her thanks.

She went back into the kitchen a minute later because she heard the timer going off. So she pulled them out of the oven and then put them in the fridge. Once she did she turned to him and said "Goodnight Aaron." Hotch looked up at her "Goodnight Emily." Hotch then watched as she entered the guest room. He then himself went to bed.

December 22, 2012

Emily woke up the next morning to her phone going off. She rolled over and picked it up and answered the phone "Hello."

There was a beat of silence before she heard "Hey pumpkin."

Emily shot up to a sitting position and smiled "Hey dad. Why are you calling?"

Emily heard her dad chuckle a little bit before he said "Well I was hoping you would have lunch with me. I am in the area for the day and thought it would be nice to see you."

Emily laughed a little "That would be nice. When and where should we meet?"

Emily could hear her dad's silence and knew that he was thinking he replied a minute later though saying "How about that café nearby your apartment at noon?"

Emily nodded to herself before looking at her watch; it was 10, "Sounds good dad. See you then." Emily then got up and went through her go bag and got out an outfit and changed into it. She then went down to the living room and saw Jack sitting on the couch and she walked over to him "Hey Jack."

Jack turned to her and smiled "Hi Miss Emily." Jack then turned back to the tv show that he was watching.

Emily then went to see if she could find Hotch and she found him in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and when she got close she said "Morning."

Hotch looked up from what he was doing and smiled at her "Morning Emily. You hungry? I can make something for you."

Emily shook her head "Thanks but no thanks. I got a call from my dad and he wants me to meet him for lunch, so I actually have to get going." Emily watched as Hotch's face fell and she wish she could do something to change that. She then thought of something. "How would you like to spend time together tonight instead?"

Hotch smiled at that and then moved over to her and said almost teasingly "Are you asking me on a date Agent Prentiss?"

Emily busted out into a laugh and said just as teasingly "Yes I am Agent Hotchner as long as this date includes your son being with us as well."

Hotch smiled at her sweetly before he said "Sounds like a deal Emily." He then kissed her cheek before he added on "I am going to the mall today to find the gift for Secret Santa and I am finding a gift today so I'll call you and let you know when you can come back. How does that sound?"

Emily smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him as she pressed a kiss to his cheek before she said "That sounds perfect." She let go of him and took a step back "Well I got to go. I'll see you tonight."

Emily saw Hotch smiling back at her as he nodded "See you then Emily."

Emily then nodded and left the kitchen and went into the living to talk to Jack. She crouched down in front of him "I have to go for now, but I'll be back tonight okay?" Seeing Jack nod she hugged him and waved bye to Hotch once more before leaving their house with her bag in hand. She drove back to her place and got changed into more comfortable clothes and waited around until 11:30 and then locked up her apartment and left to walk to the café. When she got there she picked a seat near the back and waited for her dad to get there.

While she was waiting a waitress walked up to her "What would you like to drink?"

Emily looked up at the waitress and said "Coffee please. I am not quite ready to order yet I am waiting on someone."

The waitress nodded "Okay. I'll be right back with your coffee."

Shortly after Emily got her coffee her dad walked through the doors and Emily stood up and waved him over to her. After he sat down the waitress came back and took his drink order and after his drink came back they ordered their food. The entire lunch they were just talking and catching up on what was going on in their lives. After lunch was over Emily gave her dad a hug and walked back to her place to wait for Hotch to call her.

While Emily was at lunch Hotch called Jessica and asked her if she would mind watching Jack for a couple hours while he was looking for a gift for the Secret Santa exchange for work. Jessica quickly agreed. Hotch was at the mall by the time Emily was talking with her dad. He wondered around the mall until a store caught his eye. It was a book store. He vaguely remembered a conversation that they had before she headed off to Yale where she told him that one of her favorite books was Jane Eyre and he hoped that he could get an older copy of it. He searched the store and finally found an older copy of it so he walked up to the register with it and it was close to $50 for how old it was. He smiled as he checked out and drove to get Jack before he drove home and wrapped the book and set it aside. By the time that he called Emily it was close to four.

Emily heard her phone ring right as she got out of the shower and wrapped her towel around her body and ran to get her phone from her nightstand "Hello."

Hotch smiled "Hey Emily just to let you know we are home so you can come over whenever you want."

Emily smiled "Okay sounds good. I'll be over in about an hour."

Hotch nodded "Okay sounds good. See you then Emily."

Emily only said "Bye Aaron. I'll see you in an hour."

"Bye Emily." With that they both hung up.

After Emily got changed into comfortable clothing and dried her hair she headed over to Hotch's house. She knocked on the door and waited for Hotch to answer. After Hotch opened the door they just simply smiled at each other before Hotch stepped back and let her in. The rest of the night was spending eating dinner and watching a movie with Jack and then just the two of them watching a movie. When their movie end Emily stood up and stretched before she leaned back down a pressed a soft kiss to his lips. She pulled back a couple of seconds later and said "Good night Aaron. See you tomorrow?"

Hotch nodded and stood up to join her and pulled her into a hug and just whispered in her ear "Yes you will see me tomorrow. Come by again at about the same time if you can." He then pressed a kiss to her temple before he let her go.

Emily nodded "Sounds good see you then." She then walked out of the house and walked to her car and drove home.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Sorry it is so short was running out of ideas for in between days. Will try to post the Christmas day chapter tomorrow.

December 23, 2012

At about the same time as yesterday Emily was walked up to Hotch's door. As soon as she knocked Hotch opened the door letting her inside. Emily smiled as she was lead inside "So what are we doing tonight?"

Hotch just looked at her and smiled "Just movie and dinner. Is that okay?"

Emily nodded and looked up at him and then smiled "Of course it is."

For the rest of the night they just sat on the couch and watched movies. Emily fell asleep on Hotch shoulder and after the last movie he looked over and saw that she was asleep and shook her shoulder the slightest bit. Emily stirred and then looked up at him and he laughed a little "You can stay here if you want. You are already falling asleep."

Emily just put her head back down on his shoulder and said "Sounds good, but I do not have my go bag with me."

Hotch then nudged her to stand up and made her follow him to the door of his room which he went into and got a pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt and then handed them to her. "Here you can use these."

Emily looked up at him "Thank you, Aaron. I am going to go get some sleep. See you in the morning."

Hotch just nodded "Night Emily." He then leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth before pulling back.

Emily just smiled back at him "Night Aaron." Before she turned and made her way into the guest bedroom and crawled in bed and fell asleep.

December 24, 2012

Emily woke up that morning and sat up in the bed and stretched and smiled to herself. She loved the last couple of days. She then got out of bed and wandered out of the room. When she walked into the kitchen she saw that Hotch was standing in front of the stove she smiled at the back of his head before she spoke from the doorway "Morning Aaron." Hotch turned to Emily and smiled at her "Morning Em."

Emily smiled back at him "So what is the plan for today?"

Hotch turned around with two plates of food in his hands and as he walked over to the table and set the plates down he said "Jack and I thought about going to the park today. Want to join us?"

Emily smiled at him and walked over to the table and sat down at the table "Sure sounds like fun. I just need to run home right before and get changed."

An hour later Emily left to go back to her house to get changed and then she went to the park and met Hotch and Jack at the park and they stayed there the rest of the day until Emily went back to her place.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Sorry it took me longer to post this life caught up and school started up again.

December 25, 2012

Emily woke up and smiled as she remembered all that has happened the past week. Emily walked into the kitchen and looked at the package on the table and smiled even more. She couldn't wait to see how Hotch, Aaron she corrected in her brain, liked his gift. She hurried and fixed herself some breakfast and ate it. After she ate she took the book out of the package that it came in and wrapped it up in a snowflake print wrapping paper. Soon after she got done wrapping the gift her phone rang. She went over to grab it "Hello."

Aaron replied "Hey Em do you want a ride over to Dave's Christmas party?"

Emily smiled to herself "Sure. Thank you. When will you be picking me up?"

Emily heard silence on the other side of the line for a couple of seconds before she heard "Since Dave's party is at about 1 how about I pick you up at noon?"

Emily smiled to herself "Sure see you then."

Aaron smiled to himself "Alright bye Emily. See you then."

Emily got ready for the party and was ready at 11:30 and sat down to read a book while she waited for Aaron to get there. Emily heard a knock at the door right at noon and knew that it was Aaron before she even opened the door. She opened the door and smiled at him "Hey just let me grab my coat and purse and then I will be ready." Aaron nodded and stepped inside with Jack walking along right in front of him. Emily went and put the gift in her purse and went back to Aaron and got her coat and said "Ready?" Aaron nodded and opened the door for her. "Thank you Aaron."

Aaron looked down at her and leaned down and kissed her cheek "You are welcome Emily."

With that Emily and Jack walked out first and after Aaron shut the door Emily locked up. The three of them then walked to Aaron's vehicle and then drove to Dave's Christmas party.

When they got there Dave opened the door and they saw that Garcia, Kevin, and Morgan were already there. Emily and Aaron then walked in "Hey guys."

Garcia and Morgan turned to them and waved back and as they got closer Garcia said "Now we just have to wait on Reid and JJ to get here and then we can have lunch and exchange gifts."

Emily and Aaron nodded and they got a drink and sat down and waited for the others. Reid showed up soon after and sat down as well. Not too long after Reid got there JJ and Henry showed up.

After everyone grabbed some food and eat Garcia decided that it was time to exchange gifts, Garcia turned to everyone after they sat down and said "Okay put the Secret Santa gifts in the middle of the floor and I will divvy them out." Everyone nodded and grabbed the gifts that they had bought and put them in the center of them room. Garcia then passed the gifts out and everyone waited until they all had their gifts before they opened it.

Hotch looked at the gift that was in front of him and recognized it as the package that Emily put into her purse. He smiled at it as he opened the package and when he saw what it was he chuckled because she got a gift idea from the same conversation that he did for his gift to her. He turned to her and smiled at her and smiled at her before he said "Thank you Emily."

Emily smiled back at him after glancing down at the book "You are welcome Aaron."

The team looked between the two of them and smiled to themselves because they knew what was going to happen.

Everyone else besides Emily had already opened their gift and Emily looked down at the gift in her lap and started to open it. When she saw what it was she knew that it was from Aaron. She then turned to him and laughed before she said "I can't believe that both remembered that conversation and got a gift from it."

Aaron smiled and laughed too but the team looked at them a little confused and Reid spoke up "What conversation are you guys talking about?"

Emily looked at Aaron before turning back to Reid and said "A conversation that we had before I knew any of y'all."

Reid just looked between the two of them "Oh back when Hotch worked for your mom right before you went to Yale?"

Emily nodded and looked at Aaron "Yeah we hung out that summer before I went off to Yale."

Everyone smiled at how the two of them were looking at each other. After couple more hours of eating, drinking, and having fun Aaron and Emily left.

After they got out to the car with Jack in Aaron arms and he set Jack inside his car seat Aaron turned to Emily and said "Thank you Emily for everything."

Emily looked up at him and smiled back at him "You are welcome Aaron."

Aaron leaned down towards her and kissed her. Emily closed her eyes and kissed him back and they kissed each other until they needed air and when they pulled back Aaron said "Merry Christmas Emily."

Emily smiled up at him with her lips swollen and said "Merry Christmas Aaron."

Aaron ran his hand over her hair to smooth it down and said "Come home with me Emily."

Emily smiled up at him and leaned up to kiss him and when she pulled back she leaned up and whispered "Yes" in his ear.

Author's Note: Imagine what you want I do not do those types of scenes. Hope you enjoyed it!


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